I live on Long Island, New York and have a problem with small aircraft. ?

Question

Every day, two small single engine planes circle over my house for a few hours- disappear for about half an hour and then come back and repeat the circling. This goes on for the whole day - 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM. It is noisy and nerve-wracking. Is there anything I can do? Where can I issue a complaint? I can't believe that these pilots don't think they are ruining the quality of life for the area they impact. Any pertinent input greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

These are probably aircraft from a flight school, or something similar,  using some large point on the ground to practice what we call ground reference maneuvers. If this is the case they should be somewhere around 1,000-1,500 ft AGL which is perfectly safe and I can't imagine THAT loud. You're lucky you don't live near an airport because then you would really have something to complain about.  

Answer 2

Take some photos when you think they are unduly low. The FAA can deduce the altitude by relating to objects in the photo like trees and houses.

Repeat appearances indicate flight school activity. You probably live in a relatively open area on the Island. Sorry about that. You may want to visit the local airport, and they may offer you a free ride to pacify you.

Answer 3

Assuming they're over 1,000 feet up, they have every right to do that. You can take your motorcycle and drive up and down a residential road all night long if you want, even if it disturbs the people who live there.

However, it's far more likely than not that they have no desire to inconvenience anyone living in the area. It's possible that it's flight training and you happen to live near an area that's useful for training for some reason (for example, flat ground with some kind of visible straight line reference or two visible points that are good for practicing 8's). In that case, if you can figure out who it is and call them, they'll almost certainly be happy to change their practice area. If you're the only house in an otherwise unpopulated area, this is likely.

The other possibility is that it's something that absolutely has to be done there for some reason. It's hard to imagine what that could be, but it's always possible.

You can try using binoculars to catch the N numbers on the planes. Then you can lookup the owners and call them. You can also call local airports. It will help if you can describe your location in terms they'll understand (X miles in Y direction from nearest airport Z, for example). Someone will probably be able to point you to the right person.

You can complain to the FAA. It will help if you have a tail number.

I am assuming they are not flying dangerously or within 1,000 feet of the ground. If that's the case, definitely complain to the FAA. (That's like driving up and down a residential street all night on a motorcycle with no muffler.)

Answer 4

If you can get a good look at the aircraft, either with the naked eye or with binoculars, note the N number on the tails. These should be easily distinguishable as they are supposed to be in letters at least 12 inches high.

Once you have the N numbers for the aircraft, go to the FAA's aircraft registry and you can look up who owns the aircraft. That will tell you the address for the owner of the aircraft (I do not believe it provides a phone number), and you can write a letter. If you do complain, make sure you provide dates and times of occurrences as accurately as possible.

If the numbers on the tails of the aircraft start with anything other than the letter N, then they are registered in a foreign country (unlikely, but possible). I am not sure how to look up the owner of the aircraft if that is the case.

Answer 5

As mentioned above, the most likely scenario is that they are aircraft from a local flight school/FBO with students practicing maneuvers.  They could also be some sort of surveillance or patrol flights or aerial photography flights.  If the former, the flight school[s] probably use the airspace over your house as a practice area for teaching students, and the situation will likely not improve unless you AND your neighbors complain about it.

Best course of action is to call your local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) which is a local agency that can handle aviation concerns such as yours.  Go here to find your nearest FSDO: http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/fiel...

You could also attempt to identify the aircraft registration numbers and then find out which flight schools/FBO[s] or private owners the aircraft belong to and complain to them directly (as described by smoothskies above)....although you will have more leverage to rectify the situation if you have the help of an FSDO behind you.

** Two thumbs down?  Yeah what do I know, it's only part of my occupation.

Answer 6

Could be a flight school.   First you need to find out where they are coming from.  Get a good pair of binoculars and read the ID numbers off the planes.  With those you can go to the local airports and find the planes.   If they are from a flight school,  you get the name and file a complaint with the FAA.    

Answer 7

I have a solution. But u must do it very carefully. Get urself earplugs. and carefully insert them into ur ears. And WALLAHH!!!!  

Answer 8

It is hard to visualize what is being accomplished by the pattern of flight activities you describe.  If two aircraft are actually doing that all day every single day, the cost could well run over $100,000 per month.

It makes you wonder.  One assumes it is some kind of government operation, which means there is a very serious purpose behind it.  You are not likely to be able to affect this by filing a complaint or contacting influential people.  At the same time, it is not likely to go on for very long.  (You didn't mention in your question how long this has been going on.)

But you certainly are not describing anything that any pilot would do for the fun of it.  If it is actually as you describe, there must be some good reason.  Student pilots practicing ground reference maneuvers would only be there for a few minutes once or twice a week, mostly on weekends.  I am mystified.

Public safety authorities in your community probably know what is going on and what it means, and for how long it will continue.  Try contacting your county sheriff's department or the County Manager's office.  When you talk to the authorities, frame your call in the form of an inquiry, rather than a complaint.

If you decide you do want to make it into a complaint, contact your lawyer.  An attorney can determine how a complaint should be framed and to what authority it should be addressed.

Good luck!

EDIT:  Come on, guys.  The lady says she's hearing these same two airplanes circling outside her window TWELVE HOURS per day, SEVEN DAYS a week.  Does that sound like student practice to you?  How many hours per day did YOU spend on turns around a point?  No.  There's something wierd going on here.

Answer 9

Check with some Afghan guerrillas on shoulder launched wire guided missiles. Once the word gets out, they'll find some other place to fly over.